Family Bonds
by krizhna14
Summary: Everything was perfect for the two brothers. But then, their parents were found dead in a suspicious accident. More so when a strange man suddenly enters their lives, adding chaos to the once peaceful life of the two. What is his mission? What does he want with them? Will their lives go back to the way it was? AU G27 & all27 family fluff…
1. Chapter 1

Summary: they are living normal lives, only a bit estranged. But then a strange man suddenly enters their lives, adding chaos to the once peaceful life of the two. What is his mission? What does he want with them? Will their lives go back to the way it was? AU G27 & all27 fluff…

Disclaimer: I won't and will never own KHR since it will be crappy if Amano-sensei will give it to me…

Warning: Major OOC-ness on Reborn's part, death fic of a certain boss. In addition, bashing of morals (I think)… and lastly, major grammatical errors since I'm a noob.

Beta'd by MS spell checker (it's my best friend… lol)… (^.^)v

* * *

"I'm talking here…"

'listening to my thoughts…'

_**LIGHTS! CAMERA! ACTION!**_

* * *

Intro: the start of it all….

_Three years before…_

It has been years since Enrico, the remaining son of the ninth died. And now the Vongola is having a crisis…

The passing of the ninth, Don Timoteo was finally recorded in the history of the mafia, ending his journey in such a ripe old age that he is recorded to have been the longest living mafia boss. This would have been a feat, because people in the mafia have such short lifespan that it is an unwritten rule that a boss should have established his heirs to continue the bloodline.

Even Timoteo, the ninth, followed this rule of thumb. Having three children and an adopted one, he was sure that one of them would continue on this tradition. However, fate likes to mess with people's plans, giving them trials that was sure to leave one crazy and demented. All his sons were dead in an unlikely scenario while the adopted one, Xanxus, had to be enclosed in an icy shell. This forced the old man to continue ruling the family to prevent it from crumbling, carrying on until the last sunset of his life, never given a chance to at least a break of sorts.

That day became a tragedy for them, since the boss of the most powerful family had died. To many, this is a chance to seize the title and prestige it once wore in its head but to the others, it is a chance to destroy the enemy.

It's a sunny day when that tragedy happened, a normal day for some. Just looking at the environment will let you think that nothing will go wrong. However, not at the Vongola mansion. That day, a tragedy befell upon them. And one person clearly understands the sarcasm of it all.

* * *

Footsteps are heard echoing in the grim and dark hallways of the Vongola mansion. It pleased him for it made his silent journey to those damn doors a bit lively, though not as lively as his other missions did. He clenched his hands on his sides, as if preparing to take out his trusty handgun in case some foolish idiot decides to catch him off guard or at least break the silence binding the forsaken place. But no one did, to his relief and a bit disappointment.

The man walking is no ordinary person; he had survived the impossible and lived to tell the tale. He walks in with dignity as if it's the only thing he does. He was known for his orange-striped fedora and his chameleon, other than that this man is a mystery.

He walks through this dark and dim hallway. A weak person will expect ghosts to come out and scare him out of his wits but his thinking is different. What he is expecting are assassins going for his blood. As he continues walking, he could feel the pressure pressing him, suffocating him into the darkness.

And there it was…

A threatening aura.

He shoots leaving a hole in the wall. The aura disappeared, as fast as it appeared. 'What was that?' he thought, remembering the similar instances this happened. It happened again, the same aura that seems to follow him. He glanced around like how he was taught, as they drilled to his head to expect the unexpected. Even here, it seems that trouble never leaves him alone.

He passed through the heavily decorated pillars, each carrying angelic symbols that never fit the god-forsaken place. He noticed how perfect the human statues were, though their faces show only pure agony and grievances that mar the perfection of it all. How can a sane person think of these things as beautiful? He would always ask himself. The answer would slap his face painfully: they are killers.

After passing through all of those, he noticed that the decorations changed. Portraits, old and new, hang around its grim walls not really matching the queer atmosphere the place had gained in the last few days. Each eyes had a story to tell, kindness and bloodshed mixing and rebelling against each other. One may glance at these portraits and will decide if that person is a good or a bad one.

Yet, the man remains unfazed. They're only useless pictures that remind them of what they did. The sins they passed from generation to generation. Day after day, he sees these eyes glare at his soul, trying to intimidate him, to make his weakness show itself, to no avail. Besides, he's seen worse man has to offer. Mere portraits are nothing compared to the real monstrosity of humans. And the second reason is… he is the best in the world, nothing more nothing less.

In the last portrait, he stopped completely, temporarily forgetting his goal of going there. He looked at the familiar mirth eyes. Greyish eyes the same color of his hair staring back at black obsidian eyes, it's the same as those times. He is dressed in a brown suit with black pinstripes ran around the fabric giving the impression of a tycoon executive. The man is holding on to a sceptre, like what the kings use but now, it can be a catalyst for flames. The only difference now is that it was alight in flames so pure it's like looking at a reflection of water.

He was Timoteo, the Vongola's ninth boss. The man he only respected and trusted and the same goes to the old man. Serving him for a long time now, he commends his attitude towards his subordinates and fellowmen. Some even compare his kindness and brevity to the first boss of Vongola.

He stood at the front of the portrait like a child entranced by a butterfly. Unconsciously he removed his hat and, with a hollow sigh, placed it on his chest as if to show respect to a mere portrait. He snapped out of his entrancement, putting his fedora where it belongs at the same time pretending to fix his dark crisp suit as a silent excuse. If one would observe, a glint of respect and regret shone in those obsidian eyes.

_But now he is gone…_

Now, the only reminder that he had left is this portrait hanging near the door of his intended place. Here is the proof of all his deeds, his actions, and image that he oh so worked hard to do, every sweat and brow not wasted. As a memory left behind to serve as inspiration for future generations, that all may remember the ninth, that he once was alive. That he is different from the others.

He shook out these thoughts and calmly prepared himself. He left the portrait and now faced the huge mahogany door in front of him. He is tempted to kick it and make a grand entrance but _'…that would be rude'_ he humored himself. One last time he checked his suit, fixing its imaginary wrinkles and slowly pushed the door open.

At the same time, the light fills his mind with a memory wanting to be forgotten….

* * *

In the last days of the old one, Timoteo was confined in the whitewashed walls of his room. The hospital simply gave up on him, even with all medical advances that they did, they simply couldn't find a cure. A cure for a mere cough, yet nobody knows why it affected him that much. Maybe its old age? Or a new breed of virus? No one understood it. Therefore, they told then just to make his life as comfortable as possible.

The room has many elegant decorations, the best ones in the world, but that didn't do anything to cheer the melancholy mood that surrounds the air. Nor did it raise the hopes of several old men that crowd around the bed. They look at the dying man with rivers of tears flowing, dropping to the white sheets that separate the old man to the world. It's not only them, but also the entire crew and staff of the mansion. Everyone is crying, real or not.

They know that he won't last longer, but as they say miracles happen. So they pray that a miracle will come and let the man live for a few more years. However, that doesn't remove the truth that in a few hours, days or weeks, the kind father, grandfather and boss of Vongola will be gone forever…

He had been there in that time of grief and despair. He had seen and heard everything, from the wailing of the washerwomen to the crocodile tears the rookies shed. But him, he just stared ahead as if he is merely watching a soap opera, complete with the useless drama. He ain't criticizing them, for it is an offensive term, but he only learned to control his emotions. As a hitman, it is a necessity but to the ordinary people, he is a ruthless bastard. But who cares, it's his life anyway.

Timoteo rises from the bed, making the others come out of their stupor to help him. He doesn't want to be a burden to them, but this time he is. Regret filled the old man's heart, not for his helplessness, but for the ones who will continue to carry his burden. He slowly turned his body to where the hitman is located, wincing at every pain that travels up his spine. Raising a shaky hand, he silently motioned the hitman to come closer. The hitman beckoned at the request.

"_Reborn…_"

That weak whisper, not audible but to his trained ears it's as clear as day. He went closer to the old dying man, taking in his last moments with them.

"I'm giving you one last mission. Please… promise me that you'll be… able to do it." the ninth whispered between breaths. Reborn nodded and glanced at the others that were crowding the place. They seem to have understood the seriousness of the situation and proceeded to get up. Slowly like ants following the trail that leads them to where the food is, they slowly walked to the door. However, they didn't forget to get one last glimpse of the duo before closing the mahogany door.

"What is it ninth?" reborn curtly said. Timoteo smiled, used to the actions of the black clothed man. Clutching the sky ring one last time, he kissed it before holding Reborn's hand.

Reborn looked at him sadly, seeing that he is going to put his burden to another person. This and that the unlucky person having the ring in the future is going to blame him for it.

"I need you to find… Iemitsu's sons and train one of them to be the Tenth… boss of the family. I'm… counting on… you…," he whispered with difficulty.

_'Iemitsu, the leader of CEDEF, That guy had a family?'_ Reborn thought in surprise.

Now that is certainly new information, Reborn agreed to himself. Lemitsu Sawada had been secretive about his family, using the CEDEF's top of the line technology to hide every single detail of his family. Even the inner and upper powers of the Vongola family were unable to decipher those mysterious file that he hid in the database. Nobody knows if he had any children. Now, that will not be the case.

"And…"

"What is it?" reborn spoke up.

"You may… do anything that you… like" Timoteo ordered him, earning a raised eyebrow from the fedora wearing man.

"Anything? Then it would be okay for you if I will personally give him the same trainings that you taught me? I may even overdo it or accidentally kill him. Maybe I will do things that will bring this family problems. Is that okay to you ninth?" he asked incredulously.

"Ye…yes…." Was the reply heard.

Why?

"Why would you order me to do such thing?"

The dying man closed his eyes "I trust in you Reborn. If I know that the future heir will be trained by you, then I may… rest in peace…"

He was taken aback. To order him such a thing, he must be desperate to continue on this legacy. He wants him to raise the future boss to be a kind and selfless one, just as the other candidates save for Xanxus.

Understanding the implied message, Reborn nodded with indifference after learning his last mission, yet his heart shedding tears. He started to get up when Timoteo's hand gripped his shoulders. Looks like the old man ain't finished yet. Timoteo smiled and whispered something in the hitman's ears. The hitman's eyes narrowed in surprise, then anger and finally reluctance.

The sound of the door opening shook him out of his reverie, revealing the guardians of the ninth. They look like they haven't slept for days, dark circles decorating their tired, weary eyes that still have its uses. One by one, like how they went out of the room, they entered. Slowly, but still fast enough to return to their original positions they had a while ago.

A few minutes passed, and then Don Timoteo suddenly hitched. This acted as a cue for his guardians to stand guard, to wail his name, words choking out. Short sudden breaths were heard, not the once long and silent breathing. His guardians were shouting that he should hold on, but the weak don merely smiled at them.

With wide eyes, he sees the pain Timoteo is enduring. As the time passes by slowly, so is the beating of his heart. A second later a beep echoes around the room.

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep…_

All was silent and grim, the beeping of the machine never stopped. Its like time has stopped for them. That is until a pin dropped to the ground. Its silent sound woke all of them from the daze that suddenly surrounded the place.

A nurse tried to suppress a sob, to no avail. Choruses of wailings and grieving follow her. All of them started to cry. The guardians clenched their fist to keep from losing their focus while the others just let out their emotions.

Reborn started to walk away from the heartwrenching scene when his boss' words echoed in his head.

"_let others enter your heart, for one is not complete without company_."

What did he mean by that? Is he implying that he is incomplete, that he should mingle with others? Him, who slain many mafia members with joy and happiness in doing so?

Death must be making him talk like that.

He always had been alone, never wanting company from others and never needing it. he pushed them away, in fear of being hurt and hurting others. Scratch that, he enjoys combat but only to those he hate. No, he ain't heartless. He is only merely doing his job. Through the years, those obsidian eyes had seen death and punishment. All those sights made him lose his spark until he turned into a selfish killing machine.

When he realized how deep his sin is, he resolved to exile himself. Many years he lived alone without any human contact. Here, he honed his skills, studying the style of using guns to the fullest and practicing his fighting skills with wild animals. However, as they say, no man is an island. And he learned the full meaning of the lesson after nearly lost his life.

The ninth was the one that saved him from himself, giving him a chance to redeem himself. Timoteo was the one that opened his heart again, that told him that he is accepted in his family no matter what he did in the past. But now that he's the one who need support, he merely looked at him like he's an uninteresting fly. Moreover, he had the nerve to whisper him those words!

He's not alone, he's merely pushing people away. But why do his eyes sting at that thought? He feels a deep black void in his heart that's crushing his emotions. It's like squeezing into his soul, making it hard to breathe. Why is he feeling like this?

It's hard to push the irritating feeling away. But it's harder to stop the urge to let out his tears. No! He mustn't… he mustn't let out his tears damnit!

He had been alone ever since he can remember. He grew up alone, fought alone and survived alone with no one teaching him what's right nor wrong. But here lies the one person who accepted him. Cold, lifeless and dead, just like the ones he killed with no mercy. The only one that he trusted and trusted back. Once again, he is alone in this harsh world with a dying wish to fulfill.

And that alone is enough for one to cry…

But not him…

For he is the greatest hitman in the world….

* * *

Author's rants:

Finally! After some time disappearing from the face of this planet, I'm alive! And having another fic to publish. Now this fic is pure family fluff, which means no YAOI people! However, this story will not be like one of those pure candy fluff fics out there (*stares at 'raising a family' and 'just like the sky'*) but I'm planning to make this story more realistic and may even border to dark themes. So I warned you…. If you're not interested then it's easier to press the back button.

This is just the short introduction, so if you are confused about something, that's the plan for this chapter. Yeah, I failed at writing angst. And I just wrote what my fuzzy brain is thinking.

Ps... yes the mafia exist here…

pss... as for my other story, I'm rewriting it so it will be easier to read

Additional notes:

Now, I'm having doubts in posting this story since FF . net are deleting stories they seem offensive or rated M. also, I read a/ns complaining about a group called CRITICS UNITED that bashes stories for no reason at all. That's the reason why I'm quite hesitant to post this story. I planned to post this two weeks ago but due to the ongoing war here, I didn't. But I tell you, I won't leave this site cause this is where I discovered many things.

Though if they delete this, I'm outta here... Livejournal seems to be a good place to start...

constructive criticism, no matter how harsh it is, is accepted...


	2. Chapter 2: morning mishaps

**Chapter 2:** morning mishaps…

**Disclaimer**: I don't own and will never own KHR cause if I did then Dino in the future will have his hairstyle the same as his TYA!self.

**Warnings**: none for this chapter. Though I may say some OOC characters and long narration of sorts

**A/n:** here is the real start of the story! The first was only a prologue, intended to establish Reborn's rebelling while loyal attitude. So for the confused, that's the answer. Anyway… on with the story.

* * *

In a small building in the middle of the city, there lived two people. Siblings to be exact. They are the Sawada siblings, Leyasu, who prefers to call himself Giotto and Tsunayoshi, his younger brother.

He and Tsuna had lived alone in an apartment in a peaceful place in Namimori. Their parents died in a 'vehicular accident' where they were supposed to pick them up from school. Note that it was only a car accident though evidence show that it was rigged. But incomplete evidence was found to rule this out as true.

Giotto is eighteen while Tsuna is eleven when they became orphans. Not wanting to separate from his remaining family, Giotto looked for a job to support his little bro; this required him to quit school to work full time, making his chances of finding work harder. Anywhere he applied to, he got rejected due that he didn't finish collage. But he didn't give up, determination fueling his desire to find a suitable job. In the end, he got a job at a corporate building, moving up the lowest ranks until he reached boss. It's a hard process, but he was able to struggle to climb up the ladder of success. And it's all for the sake of family.

Tsuna meanwhile, struggles at school. Because of his weak body, he easily gets tired from even the simplest exercise. He also gets low grades especially on math and English. Due to this with his low self confidence and bullying from his classmates, it earned him the title "dame-Tsuna". Oh how he loathed that name, so much that sometimes he wished that he could just be a normal boy.

Both of them live their lives with each other. One cannot focus without the other. They became the anchor for each other, supporting the other if he is troubled. They became inseperatable throughout the years. Nevertheless, challenges never seem to leave them alone. Eventually, Giotto had to move into Tokyo to make his job easier. That would require for him to leave Tsuna alone. He didn't want to leave him alone, especially that they only have each other. Of course Tsuna was against it too. Though in the end, Giotto needs to move out or else the company will have to hire another boss.

Three years.

Three antagonizing years that they have separated. Five months more if they count their parent's death

Three years seems to pass slowly and quickly at the same time. They learned to slowly adjust to their new lives. Tsuna was still friendless over the years, bullying made him so. Giotto meanwhile was so deep into paperwork that everytime he plans to visit his brother, paperwork would flow like an endless stream to his desk. This would make him furious, screaming even, but since he is the boss he has to do it.

* * *

Brown caramel orbs peek out of fluttering eyelids, closing again when light glared at him. Giving a chance to let his eyes adjust, he welcomed the warm glow of the light, slowly relaxing its dark pupil to a normal level. Once again raising his eyelids like an opened windowsill, he looks at his side where an alarm clock lies beside him. He noticed its still 6:30 in the morning. At this time, he should still be floating in the clouds but something is waking him up. Grumbling a bit for waking up early, he wakes up and opens the curtains. Looking at the window, he notices the morning dew sparkling in the railings. And on the other side of the apartment, he saw the neighbor kindling a fire in the fireplace. He closes the curtains and lies back down on the bed. He tries to go back to sleep when he felt something sting.

It's a sensation of some sort, as if it's a snake crawling from his head to his arms and legs. He feels hotter than usual, which is not supposed to be since its freezing cold outside. He reaches out to stretch his muscles when suddenly, the compressed pain exploded like fireworks. His vision is spinning and his other senses are overloading with cold numbness. Pain shoots out from his head, making him unable to think of anything else other than the pain. His body is shaking, due to the coldness or something else? He doesn't know. He can feel something stirring inside him, wanting to get out and be free. Like a fire licking the sides of its container, the sensation inside him burns. Confused, he closed his eyes to ward of the pain. Suddenly, it disappears like it never happened.

Panting, he had never experienced anything like this in his life. Sure, he had been sickly in the last ten years but not this kind of sickness. He usually get coughs and colds easily but he doubts that this is a mere cough. The one now is different. It's like being scorched by a iron hot rod pressing unto naked skin, pressing until it burrows itself deep inside his body and burst something fragile. It feels hot to the point of pain. And the flame-like sensation inside him? He doesn't wanna know.

Deciding to sleep it off, he hopes that this is only his imagination.

But he doesn't know that this will be the start of his troubles.

* * *

A few hours later, he hears something ringing in the background. Checking to see if it is the alarm ringing, he wasn't a bit surprised when he saw it was his brother calling at his phone. He reaches out, grabbed the phone and brought it closed to his ears. He pressed the call sign.

"Good morning sleepyhead." A deep suave voice was heard. He immediately reacted to the familiar voice. Ahh, his brother never forgets to call him every morning. It had become a morning ritual for them, as a measure that reassures both that his counterpart is safe. "Good morning big brother. How's things there?" he sleepily asks.

"The same as usual, I'm here with a sea of papers for me to swim on. I'm a bit envious of you, sleeping until the sun shines in the middle of the sky while I…" Tsuna hears a sound that suspiciously like a grumbling stomach "… have to wake up in the early mornings." The blond jokingly said.

"Did you eat breakfast then?" he asks. Knowing his brother, he will skip food in favor of his job. Tsuna always reminds him to at least eat something but he feels that his brother isn't following him.

"Yes I did" Giotto said fast. Way too fast if one would observe. Tsuna rolls his eyes at this and clears his throat as a warning. He only hears silence on the other side so he repeated his actions earlier. "Okay! I didn't eat anything!" the voice on the telephone squealed. "But don't worry, I'm used to it anyway and it's the same for you." He defended himself. Tsuna only smiled and shook his head knowing that his brother won't see it.

"So you say…" tsuna sarcastically remarked. Of course he also did it, but it's because he has so much to do in the little time he had before school starts. Like watching all the upcoming movies or going to the arcade by himself, oh maybe playing his favorite games until he drops to the ground.

"Uhm…oh! By the way, aren't you late for school?" School? Wait the minute, there's no school on Saturdays. Unless…

Saturday was two days ago…

Ahh… that would explain everything. Double-checking the time to see if it's true, he glanced at his phone to see its thirty minutes past nine. Then he looks at the date and sees its Monday. Man, He really needs to stop forgetting the dates.

"Hiiiie! I'm late!"

"Ah right on time" Giotto jokingly said, used at the times where he would have to wake his little brother up. How he missed all those times. "That's not funny!" Tsuna retorted only to hear another chuckle in the other side.

"Then be thankful that I even bothered to wake you up." He was only met with silence. "Tsuna?"

The brunet jumped out of bed and his foot caught in the tangled sheets, making him fall on the ground. Untangling himself is a bit hard process but he was able to escape those snake-like objects. He looks around the closet for his uniform, finds it before shutting it with a force so strong it caused the vase above to fall. It breaks to a million pieces, nearly piercing his unprotected feet but he heeds no attention to the mess. Instead he continues on putting his clothes on the wrong way which he notices and fixes it.

"I'm going!" he shouts to the phone, which is a meter away from him now. Apparently, he forgets to put the phone back to its proper place.

"Good luck!" the blond man cheerfully said before hanging up.

With amazing speed, the brunet managed to eat a toast while fixing his uniform while tying his shoes without messing up. Five minutes were all he needed to prepare for school, he calculated. He runs out to the door, locking it and raced for the elevator thought it closes seconds before he could even reach it. As a result, he was forced to run down the stairs. He goes out of the apartment and starts to run for his life

* * *

"Good luck!" the Giotto cheerfully said before hanging up. He sighs, and opens his eyes to see something that made his blood froze. His consultant, Reborn, is standing in the door leading to the hallway, arms crossed in annoyance. He pales, seeing that once again he is caught slacking off. He frantically arranges his things pretending to work hard. He sits erect on his couch like he is actually working but his crumpled suit and disheveled hair gave him away.

"Ah Reborn! What are you-?"

"So this is what you're doing when I'm gone, _boss_" Reborn spat out with cheerfulness mixed with menace. He smiled in a very sadistic way. If possible, the blond man lost all his skin color making him akin to a corpse.

"Eh! I can…"

"I don't need excuses. The meeting had already started without you. Now get your butt of the chair and start running or else kiss your job goodbye." He threatened, pulling out a gun to emphasize his point. That made his unfortunate victim frightened until he is white with fear. Reborn could be scary if he wanted to.

"Y…yes sir!" he hollered before taking off. Wait a minute…

'Fire me? I'm the boss of this company! How can he fire me?' he squawked, inner chibi self panicking. He remembers what Reborn said, facepalmed for forgetting the monthly meeting with the other companies. How can he forget such an important meeting! And it's every month damnit! He should be used to it.

Reborn watched the fleeing man go. He points the gun, trained eyes focusing on the flailing target moving further away. Relishing the feeling of holding a gun, he lets his target move away until he is as small as a blade of grass. With practiced hands, he aims and fires.

CLICK!

Fire burst out of the gun's barrel, dancing its strange dance. It's only a intricately designed lighter, given as a gift from a former boss. Bringing it close to his face, he blows the fire out like a cowboy and smirks.

* * *

Fifteen minutes of running later, Tsuna actually managed to reach school without tiring out. The delay was caused by the friendly neighbor's Chihuahua chasing him down the alley, he had to take a detour and jump over a fence to escape it. For him it's a feat of achievement, since on PE's he couldn't even run a mile nor jump five feet off the ground. Pushing these thought aside, he raced to the stairs looking for his classroom. One staircase, two staircase, three staircases and he's halfway across the goal.

He runs in the hallway when he bumps into someone. He landed on his butt uttering his dame-ness problem and unlucky curses. He didn't notice it when a hand suddenly jerked his collar forcing him to stand up.

"Running in the hallways is strictly against the rules of the liquidation committee." The prefect growled before leaving him alone.

Tsuna paled when he heard this. Surely he breaks a rule in the first day of class? Why does the heavenly being curse him? _'Did I do something in his past life to deserve this?_' He wailed inside him. He continues on with these thoughts running in his mind when the bell rang, bringing him back to the real world.

"Gah! I'm late!" he started to run again choosing to ignore the threat a while ago. He finally reaches his class, 2-A, and stops. He thinks of what will happen to him if he suddenly burst inside. Will the teacher humiliate him? Or worse…

Detention with the liquidation committee… that thought made his skin shiver.

Ah screw it, he's late anyway. He might as well finish it off.

He takes a breath and with a force, opens the door. "Ah sensei! Sorry for being late!" Tsuna panted. He looked inside to see that the classroom is half full. The teacher looks up to him and smiles. "Don't worry, you're right on time Sawada, so no need to apologize."

"Eh? Then-" then it hits him. He forgot that he set his time fifteen minutes early! "Thank goodness I forgot I changed the time." He said to himself.

Without further ado, he sat on his seat thanking the gods for his small luck. He looked around to see who else who is classmates are. He sees that none of his mean classmates have followed him which makes him take a sigh and feel giddy at the thought of one bully-free day.

Fifteen minutes later, class has started. The teacher continued on talking about the rules and regulations of the school, everyone was bored cause they all heard it many times. Tsuna felt sleep catching up to him, the running a while ago must have drained his energy. He didn't even eat anything, and he had the nerve to tell his brother to eat at breakfast. His eyelids were begging to be closed, wanting to continue the disrupted snooze. In the end, he could feel his head slowly sinking to the armrest. "Hmm… I'm sure we are supposed to have a new student today" the female teacher pondered.

Murmurs of excitement echoed around the room. Everyone was curious on who this new student is. Will he be mean? Or a nice one like all the others out there? Tsuna pondered out, himself curious on who this new student is. His gut is actually telling him something he couldn't comprehend, a sensation like 'he's a nice guy, you'll like him' sort.

"Oooo… I hope the new kid's a girl…" a guy said.

"I hope the new one is a hot guy!" a girl squealed followed by her classmates.

Suddenly, the door burst open and in comes a small student. Red hair slightly disarray from the wind matted his head, his body panting from exhaustion. When he raised his eyes, they looked like red gems with compasses that had been incorporated in his eyes. He is not wearing uniform, instead he wore a blue jacket and ordinary pants making him look like a badly dressed doll. That itself is breaking school rules.

"I'm… sorry! I'm new…. to this school and I'm not used… at the time here yet" he panted. He opens his mouth to speak more when the teacher cut him off.

"You!" a finger pointed to the exhausted student. "You're fifteen minutes late. But since this is the first day of class, I'll let this go. Now introduce yourself to the whole class." The teacher said. Tsuna looked up to see the new guy. _'He looks uninteresting… just like me' _he observed the redhead carefully. When he caught a glimpse of his eyes, he can't help but wonder where he saw those eyes before. Observing more, he saw bandages covering parts of the redhead's ands and legs though no one seems to notice this.

The new student took a breath, and went inside. He stood up at the platform and started to stutter. "I. I'm Enma Kozato. Nice to me…meet you and please take care of me" he bowed, nervousness apparent in the way is body is shaking. As he rose up, he saw all the girls drooling at him, their eyes looking like they wanted to ravage him.

"Kyaaa! He's so cute!"

"His eyes are weird…"

"Who cares! That's what make him cute!"

"Let's make him his own fan club!"

Tsuna's head snapped up when he heard him introduce his name. 'Enma? I heard that name somewhere. Hmmmm' He thought to himself. He tries to remember, mentally racking up his brains to search for something to no avail. Sleep still shrouds his mind, making the task harder than it looks. But he must remain strong! He won't give in to sleep! Never! Ne…ver….

"And I… I also came from Italy!" Enma continued out.

"OMG… Italy! He's an Italian! KYAA!" All girls shouted, making everyone cover their ears.

"Italian eh… lets give him a welcoming ceremony boys!" a guy sarcastically said, his teeth flashing dangerously while deep blue eyes glinted with menace. The other boys seem to catch the idea and cracked their sadistic smiles.

"Now Enma, seat near uhm… ah! Sawada Tsunayoshi. Sawada, raise your hand please." The teacher said. A hand rose up in the sea of students, pointing to a head resting in his arms. Of course everyone laughed. The teacher paid no mind to this, merely suggesting to the redhead to go to his seat. Red eyes looked at the sleeping brunet and see an empty chair which he presumes to be his new chair for the year. Those eyes trailed back to the brunet who is now drooling, _'he looks kinda familiar' _he thought. Disregarding the thought, he trudged past the others on his quest to go to his seat without revealing his deep, dark secret.

* * *

"So that concludes our meeting for today. Any questions?"

The people sitting raised their hands one by one. It's obvious that no one understood the discussion since all of them had confused expressions on their faces. The speaker just sighed. Looks like he has to redo his discussion again. He pointed to one of the people raising his hand as a cue to speak.

"Will that be able to help in the growth of our profits?" the man asked.

"No."

"How about raising our status in the marketing world?"

"No."

"Then what will it do?" the man asked again

"For your information, our corporation focuses on making products that helps our consumers for a low price, not a profit-making machine. If you just want to make more money, then I suggest you leave now Ricardo," the man explained.

"But Reborn! I put all my efforts into building our corporation and I'll be damned if we don't have any advantage here!" Ricardo complained.

"And I'll be damned if you don't shut your mouth and rant like a kid." Reborn threatened.

He just grumbles in his seat like a child who had his toys broken. Reborn just rolled his eyes. People nowadays are way more immature than kids themselves. He shook his head in exasperation; man, this job is harder than it scanned the place looking for a sensible person that understood his discussion. He sees someone looking somewhere else that is not him of the white screen. Looks like he has someone to mess with.

"You! Over there! Please repeat everything I just said a while ago." He pointed to a golden haired man. He just stared out the window as if it's the most interesting thing in the world. The speaker's brow twitched in annoyance and threw the marker he is holding. Giotto caught the marker without even looking, making the others gasp in surprise.

Reborn cleared his throat, making Giotto go back to the real world. After stepping out of his stupor, he noticed that everyone was looking at him with amazement of some sort. _'Damn, I forgot what we're talking about. And what's with those expression? Did I do something idiotic again?'_ he cursed inside his mind.

"Eh? Uhm… what are we talking about again?" he said sheepishly. The former hitman took out his pet and shape shift it into a gun, pointing it to the confused blond and…

**BANG!**

It happened so fast. He was just looking at the speaker with confusion when suddenly, a loud bang was heard. He felt himself being jerked by an invisible force. When he was able to get his balance back, a hole appeared on the headrest, near the blonde's head. A chalkboard eraser stuck out of the hole, smoking due to dust and friction. He only looked at it in fear and surprise. He almost lost his life there!

"What was that for?" Giotto complained to the culprit. Reborn just whistled as if nothing happened. He felt his eye twitch in annoyance "What did I do to you anyway!" he shouted.

"For not listening to me. And for spacing out at our meeting." Reborn explained. The others felt pity on the man.

'_Isn't that the same thing?'_ he mentally thought. Well this is Reborn were talking about. Rumor has it that he once was a top-class hitman, feared by even the strongest Mafioso. However, one day, he suddenly quit his job, reason unknown. Nevertheless, some thought that is only spread around by his enemies. No one knows what he is and will be doing. But, rumors will be rumors. Now, he is the consultant for the (anything related to clam), the largest corporation in Japan.

"Ahh… I'm sorry" he said formally.

"Sorry doesn't do anything boss… I mean _Leyasu Sawada._" Reborn rolled his tongue when he spoke the name, causing the blond to shiver inside. "… I want action, and by action, I mean doing _all_ of your paperwork. You've been slacking of again aren't you?" he said with a gleam in the eye.

Giotto cringed at his name being called. Just hearing that name brought back bad memories, memories that he would like to bury six feet under the ground. And paperwork!

"I told you, my name is Giotto. And why are you ordering me! I'm your boss for crying out loud!" The blond defended himself.

"And what about your brother? Why didn't he change his name?" Reborn blond just stayed quiet. He knows that he won't win an argument with Reborn. Now, he is intruding with his personal life. Work and things personal doesn't mix people!

Reborn caught himself straying away from the topic. Inwardly groaning at himself for slipping, he slapped on the table startling everyone out of their reverie.

"If there are no more questions, then its best that we should end this meeting right now. I could see that almost all of you are ready to hit the sack" he said sarcastically. He eyed the other leaders who are now droopy-eyed with theirs arms as support. They immediately straightened when they felt his intimidating stare. All of them stood up and rushed out the door as if the devil himself in on their heels.

Giotto glanced at the suit-clad men exiting the room before approaching the former hitman. Reborn just stared at him with his beady eyes, amusement gleaming in them. He watched as the blond haired person cautiously approached him. He stopped right in front of him, eyes staring at one another.

"Can I talk to you?" Giotto said bluntly. Hopefully, he can allot time for his proposition.

"And what will we talk about?" Reborn asked, his eyes never losing the gleam in his eye.

"It's about-"

"_To Mr. Reborn, please go into room R-18. To Mr. Reborn, please go into room R-18. Thank you" _An intercom suddenly interrupted him.

Reborn sighed. And he thought he could mess with Giotto. Such a bad time to call. _'Ahh well, there's always next time.'_ He maliciously thought.

"Looks like we'll continue this another time, Leyasu Sawada." Reborn teased. Giotto frowned at him being called his first name again. "I told you not to call me that name. And wait… how did you learn my true name?" he glared at the former hitman, who just shrugged if off as if an insect brushed his shoulders.

"I do what I want and for this time, I wanted to do that so I did it. If you don't want me to do that then give me a valid reason not to do it." he reasoned out as he walked out to the door. He paused for a second, turning his head in a way so only his mouth is seen. "… and I have my resources" then he continued on his way.

'_You and your messed up logic'_ Giotto mused in his head. As he watched the consultant walk away, he cannot help but think. He appeared six months ago, declaring himself the new manager of the company without even going through all those interviews. Nobody knows how he was able to get though, nor how was he able to get the job. Only thing they know is that he talked to the other co-owners and got accepted without problems. That aside, there's also the inner aspects. he seems to be the observant person, always looking at what he does and reads his mind like a book. This Reborn person is weird, really weird. Who will name themselves Reborn?

As Reborn walked forward where room R-18 is. He thought of the blond haired person. He intrigued him, the greatest hitman in the world, but he is not the one. But he feels that he should stick to him. He doesn't know why, but the feeling screams, no, orders him to do it.

"Hmph, I feel that things will be interesting…"

* * *

Is it true that Reborn quit the mafia? Even I don't know the answer. And is Tsuna sick? Hmm… oh well, you'll learn soon.

This chappie is rushed and a pain in the butt to type into. Literally. So sorry if I made mistakes up there. I was sleep-typing this chap and have to revise this a million times. Oh well.

Btw, Reborn never got his curse so he is in his adult form, but that means that he didn't get Leon. But don't worry Leon lovers! I'll find a way to incorporate him in the story.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I don't own KHR cause if I did, Hibari will talk more with his suave voice though he already did in the future arc.

**Warning:** Bullying characters abound in this chap (Reborn may be included). Intense bullying scene I think. OOC Giotto and Enma…

* * *

**Chapter 3:** similarities?

"How did the meeting go, primo?" his right hand man, G asked.

Giotto grinned sheepishly, letting G know that he didn't listen again to the speech. G noticed that his best friend and boss is frowning. Normally, even if the meeting had gone awry, he is still smiling as if nothing happened. But now is different, he can sense that he is worried about something. G wanted to ask what he is worried about but decided against it since he wanted his dear boss to relax. However, curiosity is eating at him, literally. Therefore, he mustered up his courage, pushed down his pride and voiced out his thoughts. The blond merely listened making weird expressions in the meantime.

"Well it's about-"

"Tsuna again?" G deadpanned, realizing the answer when it hit him. Tsuna's birthday is in three months and until now Giotto still haven't have permission to take a break like all the other times he asked. Mentally smacking himself for even forgetting, he swore to finally take those memory enhancing drugs. Pushing that thought aside, he continued to say out his guess…

"It's about Tsuna's birthday isn't it? It wasn't hard to guess… and that October 14 is almost close"

"Wait how did you…"

"Wasn't hard to guess" G repeated.

Silence abound the two males in the room, one rolling his eyes while the other contemplating on what he will say. After a minute or so, the blond strode to his table and sat there, head resting between folded arms. He seems to be a bit troubled again so G decided to make him a cup of coffee. He started to walk when Giotto spoke up.

"G, am I really that easy to read?"

The redhead turned around and looked at his co-worker with amusement. "Yes… yes you are…" he chuckled before leaving the room to get a cup of coffee.

Now all alone, Giotto began to reflect back on the times where he asked for a leave. He noticed that everytime he will ask, the consultant, namely Reborn will reject it before he could even ask. His excuse is that no one will be watching the company, that no one will sign the paperwork, which he is unable to leave because he is boss. And wait. If he is the boss, why didn't he just give himself a vacation? And why is he asking Reborn if he is only the consultant?

The answer, he thought bitterly is that one day…

"... One day, that gun maniac stood up the corporate table and began to speak something about following him or dying. I think he was torturing us for doing something without his permission like the time Simora practiced his boomerang. When Reborn found out, I think he did something to the poor man. A week or so, whenever he will touch his boomerang he will faint in nervousness or something." Giotto rambled to himself, thinking of that time.

Apparently, when the first time he confronted his consultant for scaring the poor old man, the former hitman whispered some words that froze his mind, later he found himself at the hospital. G said, after Reborn said something to him he fainted and was out for a week but he couldn't remember anything other than confronting him, the words now forgotten. He recalls the rumors telling that Reborn was researching his background, from his first crush to his darkest fear. His mind must have forcefully erased those words as a reflex to protect himself.

No wonder Reborn was able to scare him.

"Primo! Here's your cup of… what in the world happened to you?" he asked when he saw Giotto shaking his head like a madman. Said guy stopped whatever he is doing and faced his vice- president. "Oh nothing" the blond quickly said, but G had his doubts.

"Okay spit it out…"

"n-no!"

"Primo… I mean it" he glared at his boss. Who knew he can do that?

Admitting defeat, Giotto began to tell why he was acting like that. He told all the things Reborn done, all his failed escapades and his very own failures. Like a friend he is, G just listened intently. What seemed to be hours passed by before the blond was done.

"What will I do G? I wasn't able to come in his birthday last year! My poor brother has to celebrate it by himself. I know I gave him money as compensation but…" he flailed his arms like a madman, expression like he was ready to cry his heart out. "… that would make me look like I'm a… a…" he struggles to spit out the words.

Seeing that the blonde was ready to choke himself if he was able to spit out the words, G gratefully continued it for him.

"A heartless big brother…" G said in a monotonous voice.

"See! You even told it with your mouth! I'm really a no good brother…" he sulked in the corner.

'_Wai-How did he get there?'_ the redhead was surprised at Giotto's overacting sessions, once again hearing things about being a useless no-good brother. "If only Reborn isn't a heartless monster, I would have been with Tsuna years ago! If only…" he continued rambling on. Now this irked G, he is tired of the excessive complaints his boss did. He is tired of having to put up with trying to calm the wailing blonde down. He is tired of hearing the blonde say about Reborn being a monster. And all those pushed down feeling wanted to fly out of his mouth.

"For the last time Pri- Giotto, snap out of it! You're overacting again, making yourself panic for no reason at all. I can't take it anymore! If I hear one more 'I wanna go back' or some sort, i'm going to personally break your bones so that you are going back, to the hospital I mean. And I'm sure Tsuna would understand your situation here if you can just explain it." He screamed so loud that all employees stopped what they were doing. "There I said it!" he crossed his arms and puffed up. Giotto looked at him with hopeful eyes and G was shocked that the depressed aura was suddenly gone. Sometimes he is actually contemplating if Giotto is actually bi-polar. He changes such emotions with such speed, one minute crying and the next laughing like crazy.

Now if only he can apply that speed at paperwork.

Speaking of which, the two didn't notice someone hanging out at the doorway, for their backs were against the door, no one of them heard the silent tapping of shoes to the floor nor hear a small cough. Both were so busy in their bickering that when he tapped the blondes shoulder he swatted the hand away like a fly.

"G, I didn't know-gya! Reborn what are you-?"

"I'm so hurt boss…I didn't know that you thought me as heartless…" Reborn put his hand up to his heart pretending to be hurt when in fact he was very mush amused. "… and I was about to tell you some good news but, I heard those rambles that you did. And I tell you, that made my stone cold heard shatter. I was supposed to give you a time out but maybe I'll consider it null and void." Tearing out the paper he is holding he started to walk away.

Giotto perked up when he heard the words "good news" and "time out". He now regretted saying those words to the consultant. "w-wait!" he shouted, making Reborn stop in his tracks.

"I may give you a break three months from now but…" he smirked, causing Giotto to once more become pale. The consultant pointed to a very large stack of papers, about ten feet off the ground. "I want all these papers finished in about a month from now. If… if I see even one piece of paper left at the end of the month, forget visiting your brother ever again!" he pointed his gun again to the blond.

"Y-yes consultant!" was all Reborn heard before leaving the office.

G rolled his eyes, he knew the blond for years. And he knew that his best friend loves to procrastinate, always using his time for pointless escapades form paperwork than actually doing it. If Giotto won't start to finish all of this now, he better start kissing that vacation goodbye. And anyway, who does all his work for him?

"G… I need a favor to ask"

'_Oh boy… this wont be good'_

* * *

Its lunch time.

Everyone always anticipates lunch. It's the time where friends meet, relieving what they have studied about or complaining that their teacher is scary or something. But to Tsuna, lunch is the time where bullies come out in full gear, ready to hunt easy picking for free food. Some even take it to the extremes, where they gang up and beat the unfortunate kid until he is crushed enough for an ambulanced to be called.

Needless to say, lunch is always a nightmare.

He walks on the hallway, hugging his lunch protectively in case a hand suddenly reaches out in an attempt to get it. Cautiously he looks left and right, half expecting those bullies to appear out of nowhere. Like the time where they had popped out of the bathroom and locked him there for hours, only the janitor in his afternoon routine was able to discover him. Or the time where they cornered him and beat him up. He continues on his way, trying to find a bully safe heaven.

So imagine his surprise when no one appeared, not even the ones being pushed to bully others.

Is this his lucky day?

Gleefully, he made his way to the rooftop. Opening the door to see if anyone is there, he peeks outside only to find no disturbance. He sighed, finally glad for a day where he is miraculously not a target for those big bulls. He walks in, closing the door behind him and almost skipped his favorite place. He rummages inside his bag, intent in searching something when he reached it.

A bento box.

No, he isn't rich or anything, he prefers living simple and decent. He is used to be at home devoting his time in doing housework. He learned to make his own bentos by remembering what their mother, Nana, taught him. He opens his box. Inside are some riceballs, pork slices and other delicious food that he concocted. He prepares to eat, chopsticks ready to sink into those soft and fluffy rice. He is ready to taste the exploding flavors and…

A tug in his sleeve…

He turns around to see if someone is sneaking up behind him. No one is there save for a green ball bouncing in the distance, but the feeling of a hand never left his side, tugging him in a certain direction. He tries his best to ignore it but it wouldn't disappear. Feeling a small sense of dread and fear creeping up his body, he must have gotten used to being bullied everyday that his body is unconsciously trying to defend itself. But the feeling is somewhat different, like it's not his own at the same time it is.

Then he hears it, a shout of someone calling for help. Like in a cliché superhero movie, he looks around for the source of the voice. Though no one is there, something acted up inside him, telling him to go to the back of the gymnasium. He heeds the intuition even knowing that it might get him in trouble. He puts his lunch back in his bag and races downstairs, ignoring the sound of his grumbling stomach. He pushes his body, going down they way he walked before. He reached his destination in a matter of minutes, panting heavily due to the way he pushed his body to run. As he went closer, he could hear faint voices echoing.

When he reached the back, he hid himself carefully to prevent being spotted. Deeming that's its safe to enter, he slowly crept in. What he saw was really disturbing. All the bullies hunting him where gathered around. They circled around a guy, though he doesn't know who it is due that all there backs where facing him. So he crept more to see who the unfortunate victim is and imagine his surprise and fear when it was the new guy.

"Hey new guy! Give us all your money!" a tall and dangerous looking teen said.

"N…no!" the redhead stuttered, holding desperately at his lunch. They all laughed at him, mocking him for defying them.

"He's a way more easy target than the last one!" One of them said in a sing sang voice. The others intensified their laugh even more to the point that tears were forming at their eyes. Others agreed to him, shouting their agreement with such intensity that Enma felt like he was stabbed in the back. Tears started to form in his eyes, threatening to fall out.

"Oh look boss, we made him cry" one lackey mocked. The grins their mouths went up even larger, giving them the appearance of horribly twisted marionettes. They seem to de delighted in pushing down others in their quest to become stronger. "I bet five bucks if he will cry home to his mommy!" he shouted, holding five bills in his hand.

"I bet ten if he will wet his pants!"

"Twenty if he will do both!" another one waver a twenty in the air.

"Sto… stop it!" Enma wailed out. "Ev...everyone is… the same" he stuttered out.

"Huh? What's that kid? Are you comparing me to those weaklings huh!" the leader, Ooyama of the karate club growled.

'_Everyone is the same… all of them! They never cared for me, always wanting to make me cry. And I… i'm so useless! I…I…I coudn't even defend myself! I'm re… really so useless! I thought if I went to other schools they would stop but…' _he sniffed out, trying to control his tears. _'…why are all of them here? I thought I left them in the last school I went to! Will they follow me too if I transfer again?_

"A wise guy huh? Well then, shall we educate you?" he brought out a small pocket knife and waved it mercilessly in the air. He brought it close to the neck as if he is going to slice it open.

"STOP IT!"

All turned their backs to the shivering Enma to face the one who interrupted their feast. Brown covered their eyes, the color being reflected by the harsh sunlight. After a minute of adjusting, slowly they opened their eyes but closed it again in mirth when they saw who the killjoy out there is. They couldn't control it no matter what they think since they thinks it's a funny situation.

Tsuna stood in front of them, panting from exhaustion from running for a long time. Glaring at then would do no good since that will only let then make things worse for him nut he has no choice. Seeing another person in the same position as him made him act without thinking. _'no turning back now'_ he thought.

"Oi oi… it's the little fishy! He actually came to let himself be caught! What a joke!" the leader bellowed out. As a response, the muscles in Tsuna's body shook even more ultimately cracking his little confidence he mustered. Seeing that the brunet is shaking, Ooyama began to taunt him with all the other times he humiliated him in front of the public. Tsuna felt the tears stinging his eyes for the painful memories but he strengthened his resolve, forcing himself to be strong.

"Ahh you're no fun! Its like you can do anything about it. So will you just stand back there-" he gave out a slasher smile and raised the knife "-and enjoy _the view_!" he plunged the knife to the quivering boy, intending to at least make his mark on the arms.

In a flash, he was blocked by something. Ooyama was surprised to see the brunet in front of the new kid, using his arms to block his hand missing the knife by inches. He was ten feet from them before, then next he appeared right in front of him, as if he teleported. Red soon covered Ooyama's eyes, ultimately making him look like a psychotic freak.

"Yo-you're…" Enma stuttered out, seeing that his seatmate is the one trying to protect him.

"you stupid fish! How are you able to stop me?" he staggered, wildly pointing his knife at everyone. His acquaintances are now afraid, their boss has cracked again. Its enough that he killed one student before now their going to see another encore again. No one moved, in fear of Ooyama's wrath and that they will be the next sashimi. The crazy karate club leader slashed once, twice, thrice trying to let the brunet bleed. Tsuna had a hard time dodging the knife and now his vision getting blurry due to exhaustion. He stops and takes a breather which gave Ooyama a chance to cut a small wound on Tsuna's right elbow. He screamed in pain, tears falling out from his eyes but still taking a stand in front of Enma.

"Get him you idiots!" the now deranged leader staggered to his feet, twitching in anger. The now scared lackeys never moved in their spots, all were glued due to the aura given off by their captain. Also, they never wanted the events to turn out this way; they only planned on taking the kid's lunch, not murder an innocent! They changed their minds when they saw the glare Ooyama sent them.

"y-yes boss!" they chorused before they talked to each other.

Slowly, a bit hesitant and wary, they approached the two boys, silently agreeing to each other that they will help them escape as a form of apology to the two. They formed a semi-circle, their backs facing the now laughing boss and they acted like a human barrier. One of them whispered out to the two.

"both of you, when we count three start to run as fast as you-"

"You son of a b****h!" a female voice cut him off.

'_That voice! It can't be!'_ Both Enma and Tsuna thought at the same time.

"Bullying is against the rules of the Liquidation committee. All you hooligans prepare yourself for some disciplining." She brought out her metals fans, spreading it out so it looked like miniature wings. She sent a death glare to the troublemakers. All of then melted under her fiery and intimidating gaze. No one moved in fear of her, the leader of the Liquidation Committee, Adelheid Suzuki.

"w-we can ex-" he was knocked unconscious by the female. The others now were afraid of her instead of their bloodthirsty leader. A knife whizzed to her, she nonchalantly dodged it and smirked causing Ooyama to go on a rampage. "You… you… all you useless idiots! Come back here!" he shouted to his now fleeing lackeys.

'_Useless…'_ the thought echoed around Enma's mind.

Five minutes later, the ground is covered with the bodies of those ones part in the bullying scheme. The two boys were amazed at the power and dexterity that Adelheid showed. Neither of them moved in awe.

"Enma! Are you alright? Did they hurt you? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Adelheid shouted.

The brunet looked at Adelheid before turning his head to Enma. The redhead behind him is shaking, either in fear or hunger he doesn't know._ 'Wait a minute… the new kid and ice queen knew each other? How is that even possible!' _he squealed in his mind. He couldn't believe it with his own eyes! Hearing Adelheid's reputation at school and being one of her victims is enough evidence for somebody. Yet here she is, fussing over Enma like a mother hen. He was so troubled in what he saw that he didn't feel the glare pointed at him.

"Enma, who is this?" Adel asked her charge, who took one look at the brunet before looking at the ground, ashamed at what happened a while ago. She could feel the clenching of his hands, the small tremors that shook his body and the weak suppressed sobs that he's trying to prevent escaping. "He's… he's…"

"He's what?"

"He's –hic- the one who… who… tried to save me from… _them_… " unable to fight the tears once more, he slowly released his bottled feelings out. The two other people in the room silently watched the redhead release his frustrated emotions. He continued crying out, letting feelings move his mouth rambling about being useless in anything. Tsuna felt the same way but he deemed Enma's condition to be worse.

"I-its pointless to live…" Enma monotonously said. This surprised the two beside him.

"E-Enma! What are you talking about?" Adelheid shouted in surprise, worrying for her charge's mentality.

"all of them… they are the same, always making fun of me, making me cry and giving me nightmares in the middle of the night. Even Kaoru do it to me and so the others, I always hear bad things about me, being useless and all. I hated being pushed around and forced to be humiliated all my life. I…" he clutched his chest tighter, his body shaking once again in sadness and remorse. "…I hated it. I just want to have a normal life? Why can't I have it even for a day, a minute or a second? I want to stop living! _I want to die!"_

"ENMA!-"

"y-you know uh… Enma is it? I was also the same way as you" Tsuna started talking catching both Adelheid and Enma's attention. "What are you talking about?" whispered Adelheid.

"I-I also thought of myself as useless just like you. I-I thought also for once th-that everyone doesn't even want to talk to me. Thinking that living in this world is pointless, that's the thought that I always had. But, I was saved by my brother. I- I don't want to brag but my brother always tells me that no one is useless in this world, that we had a purpose of living, no matter how small it is. He reminds me that living is fun, even if hardships make you suffer. At least you have friends Enma, while I had no one else beside me…" brown eyes med shocked red ones. Narrowing his eyes to make an emphasis, he continued "…be thankful that they had been around you from the beginning, even if their like that it doesn't mean that they are mean. Its okay to joke once in a while and don't take it seriously Enma." He smiled when he uttered the name.

A wave of relief and embarrassment coursed through Enma's body, relief since he was finally understood by someone else and embarrassment cause he was crying like a baby. His face is now as red as his hair that can be compared to a red balloon flying in the sky. Seeing this, Adelheid stood up, slowly went to Tsuna's side as if to thank him but promptly pulled out her metal fans causing the brunet to panic. She growled like an animal, narrowing her eyes as a warning.

"Stop talking or else I will rip your tongue out." She warned "you know what, your life is pathetic. _You_ are pathetic" she said while pulling the fans closer to the brunets face. Tsuna shrieked, at the threat and the fact that Adelheid is hugging him like an anaconda. "But, thank you…" she whispered into his ear. It seems to have an effect since Tsuna showed sighs of calming down. The threat was still there but something inside Tsuna was saying otherwise. Without even alerting the brunet she quickly lets go, making him fall on his back and shout in pain. Wordlessly, she ruffled Enma's hair and left without a word.

'_What was that all about?' _Tsuna wondered, confused at the actions of the prefect. One minute she threatens him, and then she thanks him. Is everybody in this world bi-polar?

The redhead tried to stand but failed as his leg gave out nearly making him fall but was caught by the brunet. "Thank you… uhm-"

"Tsunayoshi…" Tsuna cut him.

"Eh?"

"That's my name" he smiled sweetly, causing the redhead to smile back in what seems to be weeks. Enma swore to remember that name, the name of the one who saved him. "Can I call you Tsuna then?" he asked.

"Anything you want… I don't mind." Tsuna said softly. He smiled that sweet smile again, one that looks genuine. If Enma remembers correctly, he said he didn't have friends. He felt pity on him seeing that he is also have the same situation as him. He wanted to ask more but it seems like a touchy subject to the brunet so he kept his mouth shut.

Another silence ensued. Tsuna, having nothing to do started to go out of the gym. He went back to the roof, unpacked his uneaten lunch and started to pick his food. All this time he was followed by Enma, who is shaking like a lost lamb in the distance. The brunet felt him following though he did nothing. The silence was broken when Enma asked a question.

"Is it true? Is it true that you don't have any friends?"

Tsuna only nodded his head.

"Sorry for letting my feelings out on you…" Enma apologized. He wanted to do something to his classmate, but what? What can he, a no-good himself do? Unless…

"Tsuna, you can come with me- I…I mean us if you want…" Enma spoke up, surprising himself. Tsuna's eyes, if possible became as large as a saucer. His thoughts started to spin, one part arguing that the redhead is more trouble than his worth while the other was saying yes. He wanted to say yes but that would mean his freedom will be gone, replaced by the bond called friends. In contrast to his thinking, he wanted- no, craved attention from others.

"So Tsuna… wanna be my friend?" Enma stretched out his hand.

* * *

Ahh… Enma invites Tsuna to his small circle of friends. But then, maybe this will be the start of weirdness in Tsuna's life. Hmmm… I can't decide…

For the bullying parts, what the heck was I thinking? I think I overdid the bullying scene and that I made Enma OOC. I was thinking of using Mochida but I need him in the future, so I had to use an even less popular character (Ooyama appeared on episode seven in the anime, he was the karate club captain. Read the wiki). I was also rushing this chap since exams are now two weeks away and I need the time to study…

I used the Shimon family cause I felt some sort of pity for them in the manga. They were manipulated by melon-head in the inheritance arc and got their watches stolen in the arcobaleno curse arc. Now this made me think that amano-sensei created them just to be butt monkeys. So in my story… they are Tsuna's first friends! Well Enma and Adel anyway but don't worry… his guardians will soon make an appearance.


End file.
